A Reason to Stay
by LizzyLizzyInATizzy
Summary: Kaiba-kun is in New York. Anzu will see him, no matter what.


I'm getting so much better at writing without an OC. Hope you like this! Review please?

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><p>Yes, she was well aware of Kaiba's appearance in the city she was studying dance in. After all, it had been all over the newsstands and the TV, where over-beautified newscasters eagerly spilt details on the latest Kardashian wedding (or divorce) move often then what really mattered in the world, like the war in Syria. But Anzu was not one to complain about how the people of America had their priorities set up. She was just here to become a famous dancer. Still, her heart did leap a little when she heard that Kaiba-kun was coming to New York City. She and Kaiba had never had anything between them and what was between them felt more like sexual tension than anything. She had only been the cheerleader in Yugi-kun's group, and had more than once told him off for being such a douche.<p>

But she digressed. She still counted him as a friend and as soon as she heard that he was coming to America, she scheduled an appointment with him. Granted, that itself wasn't easy either. She still struggled with English words and it was obvious the lady on the phone did not speak Japanese, but she still had a five minute appointment with him on the last day he was here. Anzu simply could not wait. She even called Yugi-kun and woke him up to tell him.

On the day of her appointment with Kaiba, Anzu wore her best clothes, the ones she had bought in a run down department store on the outskirts of Brooklyn. They were considered trashy by the rest of the world, but Anzu still wore them like they were a Dior gown because they were some of the first things she had bought here herself with her own money. She had ditched her old clothes for some simpler jeans and t-shirts on account of people thinking she was a Japanese hooker in thigh high socks, short-shorts, and sandals. She walked the entire way from her dorm in Times Square to the outskirts of Manhattan and then up three flights of stairs to the lobby where Kaiba's secretary looked at her like she was delivering food to the lowest employees. She made Anzu fill out a security check clipboard with seven pages willed front to back with tiny print and hundreds of questions about her visit. Anzu thought she must have filled out _I'm just a friend visiting a friend_ about a thousand times.

When her name was finally called three hours after her scheduled appointment with Kaiba, she was led into what she assumed was a meeting room and sat down in one of the chairs as a friendly employee asked if she would like any coffee or something to eat, since Mr. Kaiba was running a little behind and it would be a few minutes late. Anzu politely declined and sat back in one of the chairs to wait for Kaiba patiently. Unfortunately, her patience ran thin when another two hours went by and she still hadn't seen him. Her appointment was at noon, when Kaiba supposedly took about thirty minutes off, and it was now nearing five-thirty. The sun was setting too, and a year in New York had taught Anzu that staying on the streets after the sun went down was a bad idea.

At twenty minutes to eight, Kaiba burst into the room with a mighty scowl scribbled across his face. He sat down at a chair across from her and frowned. "What is it, Masaki?"

Anzu blinked. "Hello, Kaiba-kun. Long time, no see?"

He scoffed. "I'm a very busy man and you made an appointment just to say hello?"

Her blood boiled and she roughly stood up. "I've been waiting for eight hours! I was supposed to see you at noon! Now I've got classes tomorrow and I won't get any sleep tonight because I didn't finish that essay on how dance has evolved overtime! You have the gall of telling me off when _you're_ the one who's eight hours late?" she snapped, slipping from English to Japanese without really noticing.

Kaiba's expression didn't change. "Pleasant, Masaki, but I really don't care about what you have to do." He opened a laptop and glanced over the top of it. "You have ten minutes to say what you have to say and then I have to leave. I shall listen. Fair, enough?"

She wanted to kill him. She wanted to slap the expressionless mask off his face and throttle him. Instead, she swallowed back her anger and began to speak about her life in New York City. She spoke about her classes and how she had gotten an internship with Broadway with some of their famous dancers and actors. She talked about missing everyone in Japan and how different America was. She even talked about how much her teacher stressed she eat, even if she was a dancer. "I just can't eat right, you know? All the other girls are thin and slim, perfect dancers! I'm just way too curvy. You know all those thin girls are jealous?" She laughed by herself. "And I just miss you guys so much. How's Mokuba? Is he doing alright?"

She thought he wasn't listening and wouldn't respond, but he looked up from his computer and met her gaze evenly. "He started Domino High last month. He says he likes it, but he hates the uniforms."

Her lips twitched into a smile when she thought back to the ugly uniforms they made the boys wear. "Yes, I suppose. Jounouchi wrote me and said that you gave him a job. What's that about?"

Kaiba shrugged. "The mutt needed a proper job and the mechanic job he had wasn't going to put him through college. He and Yugi-kun are testers for the betas of new games Kaiba Corp. sends out."

"That's awfully nice of you." Vaguely, Anzu realized that their talking had gone on way past ten minutes, but she wasn't going o speak up and mention it. Unfortunately, he stomach did that for her when it growled loud enough to silence her next sentence. Kaiba looked over his laptop and down at her stomach.

"Have you eaten today?"

"Breakfast," she mumbled. Kaiba sighed and closed his laptop.

"Come on, Masaki. I won't have you fainting on your way home from lack of food."

"Where are we going?" Anzu squeaked as she struggled to keep up with his strides.

"Out to eat," he said firmly. As he passed the annoyed secretary, "Ethel, cancel my appointments. I am taking a friend to dinner."

The woman leapt up and bowed. "Yes, Mr. Kaiba. I'll call for the limo to be pulled around." Her hand was already at the phone.

Kaiba and Anzu walked out of the building, where Kaiba surprised her by holding the limousine door open for her. She crawled in and settled awkwardly down on the plush cushions.

"Driver, take us to a fancy restaurant in Manhattan, preferably close to Juilliard," he ordered. The limo took off at once and Kaiba watched Anzu expressionlessly.

_Oh jeez…he's just staring at me…I should make some kind of conversation…_ she thought. She opened her mouth to thank him for dinner, but Kaiba shook his head.

"Save it, Masaki; I'm only doing this so I don't have responsibility if you faint and are raped. Plus, I know that Mutou will have my head if that happens."

She found the dry humor in that slightly insulting statement and began to giggle. His stone face didn't smile, but the corners of his mouth did twitch, Anzu noticed. They had grown up, too. The outline of his jaw was shaded with the beginning stubbles of a dark brown beard and his hair was slightly longer too.

"You've changed," she murmured aloud.

He acknowledged her statement with a slight bend to the head. "As have you. Anzu."

She stared at him in amazement before looking down at herself and silently agreeing. Since she had moved to New York, she had grown a few inches taller and her hair was now kept at about an inch past her shoulders. Her face was older too, less girlish.

The car stopped smoothly, and Kaiba was like liquid, already out and offering her his hand. She took it with a slight blush and clumsily stepped out of the limo, stumbling when her sneaker caught the tire. Her slight blush expanded all over her face. _Anzu, you idiot!_

Kaiba smirked and steadied her with two hands to the shoulders. "Can you walk, Masaki, or do I have to carry you into the restaurant?"

"That is not funny!" Anzu hissed in embarrassment. She jerked away from him and stormed into the restaurant. He followed her, still chuckling slightly from her mishap.

"We'd like a table for two out on the terrace," he said to the Maître D. "And we really don't want to be bothered by people other than our waitress or waiter."

"Absolutely, Mr. Kaiba," the man replied stiffly. He led the two adults to a terrace looking out over most of Manhattan. Anzu sighed happily when she saw the twinkling lights of her world.

"As much as I miss Domino, I don't think I could ever give up New York now that I've lived here," she explained. "Just look at all those lights! I could never live in a little town again."

Kaiba came up next to her and leaned against the railing on the podium. "I understand. But Domino isn't such a small town. There are lights there at night too, it's just…smaller. Not as bright."

"But still," she sighed. "I couldn't leave here. I'm too addicted."

He didn't say anything for a long time, but then he sighed almost inaudibly. "We miss you."

"Huh?"

He blushed, and cleared his throat. "We…we…we miss you in Domino," he said. "Mokuba sometimes drags me to meet and greets with the cheer squad, but I must admit it isn't very cheerful without you."

"Ah," she murmured. "Well, it isn't all fun and games here either, I guess. I miss you guys all the time."

"Excuse me," a deep voice interrupted them. "But are you two ready to order?"

They both turned to see a large waiter holding a tray filled with various appetizers and two glasses of champagne. Anzu let Kaiba pull out her chair and tuck her into the table before they both accepted the drinks. She picked a menu and quickly set it back down when she realized there were no prices. "Uh…Kaiba?"

"Yes, Anzu?"

"There aren't any prices on the menu."

He chuckled. "Just order what you'd like, Masaki."

"Oh no, I'd feel bad-"

"You're so stubborn. Just order."

Her face burned. Her? Stubborn? "Kaiba, I am not stubborn!"

He smiled at her. "Just order anything, Anzu. Price does not matter."

Maybe not to him, but she sure didn't like not knowing prices on what she was eating. The waiter watched her intently and after a few minutes, she blushed and blurted out the first thing that she saw, which happened to be a spinach casserole. The waiter left and returned minutes later with their dishes as Anzu stared in shock. Kaiba picked up his fork and began eating. "Not bad."

"That was fast," she mumbled, clumsily picking up her own fork. In all the time she had spent in New York, she had never been able to afford a restaurant where the main course was brought out to you in less than five minutes and it was this good. The spinach was freshly picked, she could tell. She took a few swallows and the looked back up at Kaiba. "So, you're going back to Domino tomorrow?"

"Tonight, actually. My plane was supposed to leave at eight."

"Oh…" she felt her face flush again at her embarrassment. She had caused him to miss his flight to Domino! "Well, you're leaving tomorrow?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm considering staying."

"What about Mokuba? What for?" She clapped a hand over her mouth to keep it from asking anymore stupid questions.

He smirked. "I've found a reason to stay, you see. She goes by the name of Anzu Masaki and she's awfully lonely in this big city. She could use a friend."

Anzu smiled.


End file.
